Updated The Bruce Lehrmann Trials * Justice Lee - "Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins."

How long will the jury be out for?

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  • Total voters
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Historical Rape Allegation Against Fmr AG Christian Porter
The Alexander Matters matters

Just a reminder, this is the crime board and we need to be aware that there will be victims of crime either watching this thread or engaging in here from time to time. A degree of respect in all discussions is expected.

LINK TO TIMELINE
CJS INQUIRY
FINAL REPORT – BOARD OF INQUIRY – CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Joint media statement – Chief Minister and Attorney-General

LINK TO FEDERAL COURT DEFAMATION PROCEEDINGS
 
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* Bruce Lehrmann is named as the alleged rapist in a Queensland case

* Lidia Thorpe, a contributor to the Jenkins review which was raised in the fallout from Higgins allegations, has accused Senator David Van of sexual assault in Parliament. David Van was subsequently removed from the Liberal Party room.

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has made a formal complaint to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) alleging rape in Parliament House.


Ms Higgins alleges she was sexually assaulted by a colleague inside then-defence industry minister Linda Reynold's office two years ago.


TIMELINE IN BRITTANY HIGGINS ALLEGED ASSAULT

2019


Friday, March 22
  • Staffers Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins attend drinks with colleagues at The Dock bar in Canberra. Ms Higgins has 11 drinks over the course of 4.5 hours. Lehrmann cannot remember the number of drinks he had, but describes himself as being "moderately" drunk.
  • Lehrmann and Ms Higgins go to a nightclub with two other colleagues for another few hours.

Saturday, March 23
  • The pair share an Uber to Parliament House together, arriving about 1.40am. Lehrmann tells security they have been requested to pick up work documents.
  • Ms Higgins and Lehrmann are signed in by security guards and escorted to the ministerial suite of then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds.
  • Lehrmann leaves the building without Ms Higgins approximately an hour after they arrived together.
  • A security guard visits the suite about 4am, finding Ms Higgins disoriented and naked on a couch in the minister's office.
  • Ms Higgins wakes up about 8.30am on Saturday and leaves parliament in an Uber about 10am.
  • A cleaner enters the suite in the late afternoon for an "out of hours" office clean.

Tuesday, March 26
  • Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) provides a report to Senator Reynolds' chief of staff Fiona Brown about a "security breach", triggered by staff entering the office inebriated and after hours.
  • Lehrmann is called to a meeting with Ms Brown over the security breach. Ms Higgins is called into a separate meeting.

Monday, April 1
  • Ms Higgins meets with Senator Reynolds in the office where the incident allegedly occurred.
  • Ms Higgins meets with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) unit at Parliament House.

Friday, April 5
* Lehrmann's employment in Senator Reynolds' office is terminated over the security breach. It is his second strike after an earlier breach involving the handling of sensitive documents.

Monday, April 8
* Ms Higgins meets with AFP at Belconnen police station.

Thursday, April 11
* Former prime minister Scott Morrison calls the federal election.

Saturday, April 13
* Ms Higgins tells police she won't continue with her complaint, citing her current workplace demands.

June
* Post-election Ms Higgins applies for and is offered a job as a media adviser for then-minister Michaelia Cash.

Late-October
  • Media inquiry lodged with Senator Reynolds' office about the security breach.
  • One of Senator Reynold's staffers meets with Ms Higgins to discuss the media inquiry.

2020
* Ms Higgins continues working as an adviser for Senator Cash.

2021

Wednesday, January 27
* Ms Higgins and her partner David Sharaz meet with The Project journalist Lisa Wilkinson and a producer in Sydney.

Friday, January 29
* Ms Higgins resigns from her adviser position in Senator Cash's office.

Tuesday, February 2
* Ms Higgins records an interview with Lisa Wilkinson for The Project.

Thursday, February 4
* Ms Higgins contacts the AFP to reopen her police complaint.

Saturday, February 6
* Ms Higgins has a preliminary meeting with AFP's Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team. She alerts police she has taken part in an interview with a journalist and is advised media coverage may jeopardise an investigation and subsequent prosecution.

Monday, February 15
* Ms Higgins' interviews are published by news.com.au in the morning and aired by The Project that evening.

Wednesday, February 24
* Ms Higgins undertakes her first evidence-in-chief interview with AFP officers.

Monday, March 15
* Ms Higgins makes speech at March4Justice rally outside Parliament House.

Tuesday, March 16
* Ms Higgins is offered a book deal worth $325,000 about her experiences.

Monday, April 19
* Lehrmann is interviewed by police.

Wednesday, May 26
* Ms Higgins has a second evidence-in-chief interview with AFP officers. She provides her phone to police for extraction after the interview.

Friday, August 6
* Lehrmann summonsed to appear before ACT Supreme Court in relation to the incident.

Thursday, September 16
* Lehrmann appears before court, charged with sexual intercourse without consent and pleads not guilty.

Friday, November 5
* Lehrmann committed to stand trial.

Thursday, November 18
* Trial date laid down for June 6, 2022.

2022

Monday, February 28
* Lehrmann's legal team indicate they may apply for a permanent stay due to concerns he would not be able to receive a fair trial.

Friday, April 1
* Lawyers for Lehrmann apply to have case halted.

Friday, April 29
* Application for stay dismissed by the court.

Thursday, June 2
* Trial delayed by three weeks. New trial date set for June 27.

Tuesday, June 21
* Trial delayed after Lisa Wilkinson's Logies speech in which she thanked Ms Higgins.

Thursday, June 23
* New trial date set for October and slated to run for up to six weeks.

Tuesday, October 4
* Trial begins in Canberra.

Monday, October 10
* Ms Higgins is unavailable to attend court. The court hears from other witnesses in her absence.

Tuesday, October 11
* Journalists Samantha Maiden and Lisa Wilkinson are removed from the witness list.

Wednesday, October 12
* Prosecution indicates trial is well ahead of schedule, half the original witness list is cut.

Friday, October 14
* Ms Higgins returns to court and the defence completes its cross-examination.

Monday, October 24
  • Coalition senators Michaelia Cash and Linda Reynolds give evidence.
  • Senator Cash denies knowing about Ms Higgins' rape allegations until 2021. Ms Higgins previously told the court she had several conversations with Senator Cash about her allegations.
  • Senator Linda Reynolds is accused by the prosecution of trying to interfere in the outcome of the trial. It is revealed she sought access to the transcripts of Ms Higgins' evidence before appearing in court. She was told this request was "inappropriate" and did not receive the transcripts.
  • It was also revealed Senator Reynolds messaged Lehrmann's defence team about a potential line of questioning two hours after

Ms Higgins began her evidence.
* The prosecutor accused the senator of trying to coach the cross-examination of Ms Higgins because she was politically invested in the outcome of the case. She denies both suggestions.

Wednesday, October 19
* Jury begins deliberations after final instructions from Chief Justice Lucy McCallum.

Monday, October 24
  • Jury sends note to the court asking for "a little extra time" to deliberate.
  • Chief Justice McCallum assures the jury there is "no rush" and they should not feel pressured by people waiting for their verdict.

Thursday, October 27
* The chief justice dismisses the jury after it was discovered one juror obtained information outside the evidence presented in court. A retrial is set for February 20, 2023.

Thursday, November 17
* The ACT government announces it is considering law changes to allow recorded evidence from a first trial to be used in a subsequent trial in a bid to stop someone being required to give in-person evidence a second time.

Friday, December 2
* ACT prosecutor Shane Drumgold announces the case has been dropped, after receiving medical advice regarding Ms Higgins.
 
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Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has made a formal complaint to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) alleging rape in Parliament House.

Ms Higgins alleges she was sexually assaulted by a colleague inside then-defence industry minister Linda Reynold's office two years ago.


So much of this I don't like.

Rapes should be reported as soon as practical. This applies to the victim but also anyone that becomes aware of the incident.

Calling for political interference is not appropriate, either way.

Claiming video evidence was not provided on request is appropriate. Rather security in parliament should have advised her due to privacy laws, you have to make a complaint to the police and the police will request the evidence.


Sadly everyone is a loser here accept the alleged rapist, who will almost certainly get away without penalty.
 
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It might be about to get even messier. Dutton's already on the back foot claiming Scotty wasn't informed because it was 'operational' confirming he was across an investigation but ... there are unconfirmed reports the alleged offender left the country this week.
 

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there are unconfirmed reports the alleged offender left the country this week.

'Police are yet to speak to the man, who is a dual national. Government sources say he will not be allowed to leave the country.'

I hope those un-named Government Sources are correct in this alleged serial rapist dual national still being in Australia.

I imagine if there were no Government approvals required to exit the country at the moment, that the alleged offender might well have made it to the USA before he could be interviewed, arrested or charged.

And envisage that Ms Higgins would have not forewarned her accused rapist or anyone (including any Police) in any possibly way that she was, or might be about to go public on the March 2019 alleged rape event, had she not been assured that he would have great difficulty in exiting Australia before he could be interviewed, arrested or charged.

The accused would have likely had a window of opportunity to exit Australia for good before COVID-19 travel restrictions came in earlier in 2020, and obviously didn't.
 
'Police are yet to speak to the man, who is a dual national. Government sources say he will not be allowed to leave the country.'

I hope those un-named Government Sources are correct in this alleged serial rapist dual national still being in Australia.

I imagine if there were no Government approvals required to exit the country at the moment, that the alleged offender might well have made it to the USA before he could be interviewed, arrested or charged.

And envisage that Ms Higgins would have not forewarned her accused rapist or anyone (including any Police) in any possibly way that she was, or might be about to go public on the March 2019 alleged rape event, had she not been assured that he would have great difficulty in exiting Australia before he could be interviewed, arrested or charged.

The accused would have likely had a window of opportunity to exit Australia for good before COVID-19 travel restrictions came in earlier in 2020, and obviously didn't.
I've heard through sources he has already left the country. Any idea who it is? apparently a member of the evanjalist church
 
Like PR I am not a fan of allegations being made long after the incident

But I also wonder , given the nature of the work place , if the allegations were made at the time and nothing was done at that time - hence the desire for revelations

I have seen where 2 more women have made allegations against the same person

If you search twitter you can see his name

But I better ask my wife
 
Like PR I am not a fan of allegations being made long after the incident

But I also wonder , given the nature of the work place , if the allegations were made at the time and nothing was done at that time - hence the desire for revelations

I have seen where 2 more women have made allegations against the same person

If you search twitter you can see his name

But I better ask my wife
I've found him, named on a lefty page. There is only one mention of him looks like everything has been removed from online about this person.The incident happened a week before the Federal election, imagine if it had of got out then.
 
Not sure if it is the name on Twitter. There's also a DoD press release that seems to explain that it couldn't have been him.
 
... there are unconfirmed reports the alleged offender left the country this week.
Exemptions are not difficult to obtain, and with connections he would have no problems getting one.

Would be a massive political scandal though, if government ministers aided an accused (serial) rapist to leave the country without a valid reason.
 
Not sure if it is the name on Twitter. There's also a DoD press release that seems to explain that it couldn't have been him.
Except for the wipe down of his online

That alone draws suspicion. You have the right to not have a digital presence but it seems his has been professionally cleaned and only since the allegations arose
 

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Except for the wipe down of his online

That alone draws suspicion. You have the right to not have a digital presence but it seems his has been professionally cleaned and only since the allegations arose
Yep very dodgy, looks like there was an application also made to remove content about this person.
 
Clearly yous guys have never been a victim of sexual assault or rape, let alone in the workplace. 10+ years I still haven't reported it and have only told one single person. It's not uncommon for those of sexual assault and/or rape to not come forward for years, let alone go public - hell I'd say more rapes & assaults go unreported because of comments like the above.
 
Clearly yous guys have never been a victim of sexual assault or rape, let alone in the workplace. 10+ years I still haven't reported it and have only told one single person. It's not uncommon for those of sexual assault and/or rape to not come forward for years, let alone go public - hell I'd say more rapes & assaults go unreported because of comments like the above.

I'm with you on that one. There are so many reasons that victim/survivors don't report either at the time, or later. Even much later, there are still reasons why some people choose not to report. And bearing in mind that they didn't have the choice to be a victim/survivor, no-one should try to take away their choice not to relive the experience. Instead of saying 'why didn't she report it?', try saying 'I want to change things so that she felt safe to report it at the time'.

Take away the reasons for not reporting, so that every instance of sexual assault was reported, and we'd see a very different perspective of the #metoo movement.

Grace Tame gave a great address to the National Press Club today.
 
Looks like Reynolds might be about to get shuffled along to assist the Minister for Agriculture, when she returns from her sick/stress leave.

'Defence Minister Linda Reynolds called Brittany Higgins a ‘lying cow’'
2 minutes ago March 3, 2021

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds referred to Brittany Higgins as a “lying cow” in front of staff members, after her former media adviser went public about an alleged rape in Parliament House.
Senator Reynolds made the comment in the open part of her office on February 15 and it was heard by several staff members, some of whom are public servants on secondment from the Department of Defence.

...defence industry figures question whether she should remain in her portfolio.

...The Australian understands staff expressed concerns to superiors that the Defence Minister’s comments were inappropriate. Senator Reynolds later addressed her staff to apologise for remarks she said had been made during “a stressful time” for everyone in the office. The minister declined to answer The Australian’s questions about the alleged incident, first put to her on Tuesday. Her spokeswoman said she would respond next week after returning to work.
 
With the reported/alleged 'vertical rump' comment from Reynolds, in my last post

I speculate that Reynolds might be referring to a possible assurance that Ms Higgins might have given someone (Reynolds, Cash or someone else) relaying things back to Reynolds, that she (Ms Higgins) would not be going public, or to the Police (again) with what happened to her in the Defence Minister's office with her alleged colleague and accused rapist.

If my speculation is on the money, then this would make Reynolds appear to be more concerned about Ms Higgins sticking to a plan, than continually encouraging Ms Higgins to formally request Police to continue with investigations, into a very serious crime committed against her in her workplace by a colleague and Reynolds staffer, whilst she was both intoxicated and asleep/ half comatose from being plied with alcohol by her alleged rapist that evening.

For that, Reynolds will probably not getting any ministry position upon her return to work. If she ever returns.
 
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